Four Lawyers over Age 65 Start a New Law Firm with a Civil Liberties Focus

The former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union sees no reason to retire. At the age of 68, he has joined with his wife and two other lawyers to form a new law firm.

Norman Siegel and the three other lawyers have 161 years of collective legal experience, the New York Times City Room blog reports. “And now, when most of their contemporaries are contemplating retirement or have already quit, the four of them are starting a new law firm,” the story says. Their firm will have a civil liberties focus, though it will also handle commercial matters.

Siegel and his new partner, Herbert Teitelbaum, are already suing the city of New York for confiscating nearly 3,000 books during an eviction of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, the story says. Teitelbaum formerly oversaw securities litigation at Bryan Cave and was executive director of the state Commission on Public Integrity until his 2009 resignation. (At the time, the state inspector general accused Teitelbaum of leaking confidential information; Teitelbaum denied it, the Times says.)

Also joining the firm are two former judges, including Siegel’s wife, Saralee Evans. Siegel and Teitelbaum, both 68 years old, are the youngest of the firm’s founders. “Why would I want to retire?” Siegel tells the Times. “I’m at the peak of my game.”